I’m Emylia Hall and Mothership Writers is my baby.

I’m the author of seven novels, including the Richard & Judy book club pick The Book of Summers, and the best-selling cosy crime series The Shell House Detectives Mysteries. I also love teaching creative writing; I believe that when anyone picks up a pen they have the power to enrich their life. Mothership Writers is born of my experiences as both a mother and a writer.

Photo by Nell Mallia

I was working on my third novel, The Sea Between Us, when I found out I was pregnant. As luck would have it, the story was, in part, about a new mother, and for all my trepidation about the changes ahead, I was excited about this new potential for authenticity. All writers know that no experience is wasted, and I was to remind myself of this fact countless times in the months ahead: through morning sickness and a threat of miscarriage; through my waters breaking on a train, and going into labour four and a half weeks early. I remember being in the middle of giving birth, and thinking I’d have to rewrite the same scene in my work-in-progress as it didn’t touch the sides of what was happening to me in that moment. Throughout my son’s babyhood, writing continued to be an escape, a balm, an adventure. Many of my experiences as a new mother went into that novel, and I felt grateful for having such an outlet. When Calvin was small he wouldn’t sleep unless he was moving, so I’d walk the streets of Bristol, strung out with fatigue but often writing in my head. I was more glad than ever of the secret garden that belongs to everyone who writes.

As a novelist, I’m used to framing the events of my life in a narrative, and to seeing personal experience as potentially rich creative territory, but the benefits of writing are there for all. The simple act of getting something out of your head and onto paper – whether fiction or fact – can be therapeutic, empowering, and very good fun.

I’ve now run over 200 workshops for Mothership Writers – and loved every single one of them. I’ve seen at first hand the value of providing an inspirational space for new mothers, and believe more than ever in the rich relationship between creativity and maternity.

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BIO: Emylia Hall is the author of seven novels, including the Richard and Judy book club pick The Book of Summers and The Thousand Lights Hotel, which was recently chosen by Fearne Cotton for her Happy Place Book Club. In 2023 Emylia launched The Shell House Detectives Mysteries, a new ‘cosy crime’ series set on the Cornish coast. The Shell House Detectives was a Kindle Top 10 bestseller, and the rights have been optioned for TV. Since then two more Shell House books have been published – and there are plenty more to come. Her work has been translated into ten languages, and broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music. Emylia is a writing coach at The Novelry, and has also taught writing workshops in Kigali, Zurich, for the University of Lausanne, and for Arvon. She is the founder of Mothership Writers and lives in Bristol with her husband – who is also a writer – and their young son.